


sophie

by wintersweather



Series: look up [2]
Category: Polygon/McElroy Vlogs & Podcasts RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-19
Updated: 2018-05-19
Packaged: 2019-05-08 22:34:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14703828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintersweather/pseuds/wintersweather
Summary: though we've never given it a name, i'll just call it friend or foe





	sophie

**Author's Note:**

> title/excerpt from "sophie" by the altogether!
> 
> this is a continuation of my short story, "five minutes"! 
> 
> also there's no one named sophie in this story i'm sorry if ur hopes were high

The first time Brian knocked on the apartment door, he felt small and awkward. Pat had smiled at him like they hadn't just seen each other a few hours ago at the office, and let him in.

They sat together on Pat's couch, Charlie asleep nearby. Pat was sitting up board-straight, and Brian could feel the tension in the air. Pat was always more keyed-up than he let on. 

"Thanks for coming over." Pat had said, his voice soft as he looked over at Brian.

Brian smiled, nodded, hoped he seemed natural. New York Brian wasn't Baltimore Brian. He just needed to remind himself that, because Baltimore Brian wouldn't be here anyway, and he wouldn't be wishing his coworker would hold his hand. 

"I'm, um," Pat stuttered. He did that a lot. It made Pat seem more human, took him a little off the pedestal Brian had him on in his own mind. "I don't usually have people over. I'm like, basically a shut-in."

Brian knew how that felt. He didn't say it out loud, because he didn't want Pat to think he was some lame kid. Which he was, but Pat hadn't figured that out on his own yet. "It's okay. I'm just - I'm glad to be here." He answered.

They fell into a rhythm pretty soon after the initial strangeness wore off. Pat asked him about Polygon, about how he felt about the job and his coworkers. The conversation quickly got derailed, and soon turned into stories from their childhoods and Brian found himself laughing more than talking.

\- - -

Brian had never dated-but-not-dated someone. It was strange.

Pat had never refered to Brian as his boyfriend, not even when it was just them in Pat's bedroom. Brian didn't want to push his luck. He figured they should talk about it at some point.

Knocking on Pat's door was familiar at this point. Pat pulled it open and smiled at him. "Honestly, you should just let yourself in by now, babe." Pat said, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

Brian's laughed verged dangerously close to a giggle. "That'd be weird. I couldn't." He responded, following Pat inside. Pat never rearranged his apartment, and Brian sorta liked that about him. He always knew what to expect.

"I'm glad you came." Pat said, pulling Brian into a hug. "I missed you."

"You just saw me." Brian answered, resting his head against Pat's chest. 

Pat squeezed him a little tighter, kissing the top of his head. "It's really dumb, but I miss you anytime you're not around."

And Brian used to think it was bullshit when people wrote about their heart fluttering.

\- - -

Brian wasn't familiar with the movie Pat had put on, and he wasn't super interested, but he curled himself up against Pat's side and tried to focus on the screen. At this point, he'd lost the whole plot.

"You alright?" Pat asked quietly, raising the shoulder Brian's head was on. "You're quieter than usual."

"Yeah, just thinkin'." Brian answered. The room was dark, and the television was lighting Pat's face up in interesting ways.

"About what?" Pat pried, adjusting to face Brian fully.

"You. Us. I love you." Brian said, all in one breath. He tried to feel confident about it, like he meant to say it. Like he might've not ruined everything.

Pat took a breath and smiled just a little, leaning in to kiss Brian. The noise of the TV faded into the back of his mind as Pat pulled him onto Pat's lap. The kiss went a little sloppy when Pat put his hands on Brian's ass and pulled him closer, made Brian lose his balance.

Brian pulled back first, their foreheads still touching. "What are we?" He asked, trying to read Pat's face. 

Pat's glasses were kind of askew and his hair was a mess. "We're us." He answered, his hands sliding up to rest around Brian's waist. "Is - is that okay?" He questioned, voice sounding weaker than Brian anticipated.

Brian thought he would feel a little more disappointed by that answer. But, it made sense to him. They had known each other five months, and everything they did was made up on the spot. He felt comfortable around Pat, knew he could trust him. Knew they didn't need labels like that.

Later that night as Brian slid into bed next to Pat, he wondered how he racked up enough good karma to deserve someone like Patrick Gill in his life.

**Author's Note:**

> this is my fav song from the altogether! i get so jazzed when it comes on shuffle that i almost crash my car! it's very good!
> 
> ao3 has been being real shitty recently and not letting me post things and actually do Work so i apologize about how late this is. i really don't like this work all that much but idk i really Struggled!
> 
> ALSO i decided to make all these song-inspired stories a connected series


End file.
